25 September 2011

Went to my favourite river yesterday, just to get it in before the season ended. On arrival it was much higher than i expected but still crystal clear. The flats at the bottom of the beat were even moving and had the odd riser as there was a hatch , not huge but a few flies trickling down , enough to bring up a fish or two here and there which is a rarity, atleast most times ive fished it. I caught my first fish in the flats,on a CDC and elk, the flats are not a place i normally spend anytime in usually finding the better quality fish in shallower faster water but conditions dictated.

on the flats

So i heading further up the river i met my usual haunts ,some of it was fishable , some was not crossing the river was dodgy in places but the further up the river i got the easier it got as the river shrunk as tributary after tributary was lost. pools that are normally ankle deep were up to my waste , it's a challenge finding the fish in these conditions, but they are there , and once in my stride i was doing ok. i ended the day with around 20 fish a couple just under 1.5lb , and a good few pounders.

Two bigger fish incidents, one where a trout rose in a calm side stream area at my fly but never stuck (NZ style problem), and another where the nymph seemed to snag when i hooked up and i got broke, oh there was one other strange incident , i hooked a wee 3/4lb brown and a bigger brownie seemed to follow it even have a go at it, I'm suspecting it was it's male suitor for spawning though which is just round the corner now. My wading boots gave up on me the sole (not just the felt sole but the rubber/foam stuff) came away , i knew it was only a matter of time , i will invest in a decent pair very shortly.